Electric and electronic machinery in general are known to emit electromagnetic radiation of various wavelengths. However, in the last few years the realization has gradually dawned that the habitual users of certain electronic machines and apparatus including the appliances and electronic devices that are becoming more and more common in offices or daily home life, are subject to physiological disorders. This is the case of the users of VDUs and television receivers. Since the introduction of such apparatus there have been many worker complaints which cannot be denied. The statistics collected in a number of countries have revealed in particular that the regular operators of such electronic machines suffer systematically from such complaints as eye-strain, dizziness, muscle ache, stiffneck, headache and irritability.
Although the exact causes of these complaints are still not completely understood and explained, various specialists who have observed and analyzed these phenomena attribute them chiefly to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the machines.
In response to alarming reports on health concerns associated with VDU use, many international organisations, professional associations, research institutes or trade unions in several countries have developed model codes of practice or recommended guide-lines intended for personnel responsible for the selection and installation of VDUs and for workers who will use VDUs. Some guide-lines and model codes have included check-lists to assist in identifying problems and preventive or remedial measures.
Manufacturers have responded to said health concern by shielding their products against radiation leakage and introducing tiltable models with anti-glare features. Electromagnetic energy shielding currently uses energy absording material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,507 discloses an energy absorbing composition comprising particles made of a metal core with an electrically conductive coating. Carbon compositions have also been used in radiation shielding applications.
State-of-the-art radiation shielding is effective to reduce or limit radiation leakage from electronic machines, and it has been reported that commonly no measurable level of radiation was detected. However, there are still many complaints from VDU users and the question of preventing radiation hazards is still debated in many countries. It has been recognized that an indication that no measurable level of radiation could be detected heretofore does not give any evidence that there is no radiation hazards any more. In the United States, for instance, NYCOSH (New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, Inc.) stated that "the testing which has been done is limited and has been challenged. Some radiation frequencies have not been tested for and most machines have not been tested at all. Manufacturing defects or poor maintenance could cause higher levels of radiation to be emitted. In addition, very low doses of radiation can be hazardous and there is no known safe level of exposure.
In Canada too, the question is at issue. In recommendations dated 1982, the Labour Canada Task Force on Micro-Electronics and Employment stated that "little is known about potential long-term effects of exposure to low-level radiation, . . . " and further that "the Task Force recommends that the canadian and provincial governments continue to fund medical and other research into possible safety and health risks, including the adequacy of currently acceptable radiation levels . . . ".
In many other countries, e.g. Japan and United Kingdom, it has been recognized that no definite conclusion has been reached as yet regarding the possible causal effect of long-term low-level radiation emission from VDUs. Reference can be made to the publication "Conditions of Work Digest", by the International Labour Office, Geneva, Volume 5, Number 1, 1986.
The applicant has studied this problem and, based on the idea that living cells grow and develop naturally when they are in a spectrally balanced magnetic field, believes that the foregoing complaints and disorders result from a spectral imbalance in the surrounding electromagnetic field due to an excess of harmful radiation generated by electronic machines.